Timeline
World: about -1000 years The western continent is unified by the Emperor Gaiseric, with Midland as chief kingdom. Soon the city became place of dissoluteness, and a wise opponent of the emperor is exiled in the Tower of Conviction, where he invoke God. Midland is destroyed and there’s no trace of Gaiseric anymore. On the Astral Plane, every 216 years, a man, thanks to the red Behelit, become a member of the God Hand, during a solar eclipse. The arch-demonic family welcomes the ghastly Void. A warrior fights the God Hand and Void, finding in the witch Flora an ally. This warrior dresses the Berserker armor, a magic artefact made by dwarves. Thanks to magic, they survived the time and they’re still fighting. World: about -300 years Zodd, a cruel warrior, become an apostle of the God Hand, and rival of the warrior that wear the Berserker armor. He die, because of it’s bad effect, becoming the Skull Knight losing his humanity. Flora guards the dangerous armor in the palace of the spiritual, her new home after the overtaking of pagan faiths by the religion of Holy See. The Holy See reshapes all the sanctuaries devoted to the elemental spirits on her new needs, churches and cathedrals are built. The Tower of Conviction goes into Papal State’s hands becoming the Sanctuary of St. Albion. World: about -80 years Among all the realms built after the end of Gaiseric’s empire, Midland and Tudor become famous because of their military rivalry. Tudor conquers fortress Doldrey, symbol of Midland, giving the start to the 100 years War. In the country of Kushan the race of Barkilaka is exiled for political reasons. World: about -30 years Magic, now, is only superstition and creatures like elves vanish in other leaving their original places, like Misty Valley. Still, Flora, even if banished, continues to help Paneria’s inhabitants, like the little Morgan. Godo the blacksmith is commissioned to forge a sword fit to slay a dragon. The King doesn’t like the Dragonslayer, and the blacksmith is forced to withdraw himself on the mountains, where he still work. In a cave, once lived by the elves, he find good minerals. World: about -15 years The Vandimion bank, owned by the wealthy Frederick III Vandimion, who is in business with and resides in Holy See, provides money to Tudor. But neither Tudor, nor Midland are capable to change the situation between them. Guts' age: 1 month Sys, the Gambino’s mate, pick up Guts, just born from a hang cadaver. Gambino is the captain of a mercenary gang. The Skull Knight continues in his revenge against the Hand of God and it’s Apostles, eating their Behelits. Guts' age: 3 years In Windam, main city of Midland, the King and the Queen celebrate the birth of Charlotte, their daughter. Shisu die because of plague, and Gambino with reluctance trains Guts to the art of sword. Guts' age: 9 years Guts is sold for a night to fellow mercenary Donovan by Gambino. After his revenge for the rape suffered, Guts continues to fight as a mercenary in the gang. Guts' age: 11 years Forced to defend himself from Gambino, gone crazy, Guts dips his sword into his step-father’s neck. Chased away by Dug and the others, he goes from battle to battle militating in different mercenary armies, even Angas’. In the Holy See the three male sons of Frederic III: Giorgio, Poliziano and Magnifico struggle for the succession to their father, while Farnese, his daughter, spoilt and restless, is calmed down only by Serpico, her secret step-brother. In the Midlands, the Royal Family is stroke by a heavy mourning: the Queen has an untimely dead. The King gets married to another woman that has a secret liaison with Julius, brother of the King. Griffith, a child of humble-birth, dreaming his own reign, set up a gang of robber where appears Pippin, a miner, Corkus, a bandit, Judeau, a tumbler, and the 12 years old girl Casca. And so, the Band of the Hawk see the light, soon it will become a mercenary gang. Guts' age: 13 years Recruited by Lord Gennon, a perverted squire, Band of the Hawk begin to gain fame. Griffith spends a night with Lord Gennon for money. In Midland, the King place side by side the assassins guilds of Barkilaka to his armies: the White Dragon, the White Tiger, Arclow e Tumel. In a county not interested in the war, a Count is chasing after heretics, but he finds out that his beloved wife is involved in the cult of the evil. Thanks to Behelit, he become an Apostle and start to make unjustified massacres. Vargas, the castle doctor, escapes from him, stealing Behelit from the Count. Guts' age: 14 years Guts defeats Bazuso, and is noticed by Griffith. Provoked by Corkus, the young warrior is forced to defend himself from the attack. Even Casca, the Griffith’s right hand, take part in the fight, risking her life. Griffith hurts and then defeats Guts that, after a second fight with the Captain of the Hawks, joins the party. In a village destroyed by flames, Godo saves the little Erica, and takes care of her, while, the King of Midland founds the Black Dog Knights, led by Wyald, a prisoner and Apostle of the God Hand. Guts' age: 17 years Rosine, tired of living with her family, and obsessed by the tale of Peekaf, leaves her house and heads to Misty Valley, where she become an Apostle, after sacrificing her parents. The Black Dog Knights is banish for the crimes committed. Guts' age: 18 years The Band of the Hawk defeat the Black Sheep Iron Spears Heavy Knights of Tudor and is recruited by Midland for the One Hundred Years War. Meanwhile, in Holy See the patriarch of Vandimion sends her daughter to a convent. Soon Farnese becomes the commander of Holy Iron Chain Knights, the papal army, supported by Serpico and Azan. The first mission is to repress an heretical internal movement to Holy See, and Serpico sends his mother to the stake. During a siege, Guts faces Nosferatu Zodd, that forecasts a certain death for the guy, “cause of an event that will evolve even Griffith”. The Hawk are not well liked at the court, especially by the Conservative wing. Minister Foss succeeds in setting Count Julius against Griffith, but a failed attempt decrees the death of the noble with his son, Adonis, both killed by Guts. A speech about friendship and dream, made by Griffith to Charlotte, upset Guts, who starts to think about his future. The King of Midland strikes the final attack to Tudor, weaken by internal problems. During the battle against the Blue Whale Knights, Guts and Casca improve their relationship. An ambush by Adon Bocovich engages Guts against 100 Tudor’s men. This fight become legend on all the battlefields and Guts takes the name of The Hundred Man Slayer. The King orders to the Band of the Hawk to reconquer Doldrey, and only Owen and Raban are with Griffith and his army. Once they’ve defeated the Purple Rhino Knights of Lord Boscone and the Governor Gennon, the Hawk conquer the fort. Midland wins the One Hundred Years War. Flora takes Schierke as apprentice, accompanied by Evarella, an elf. Griffith avoids another conspiracy against him, led by Minister Foss and the Queen, who is killed. Foss is coerced into turning on the other conspirators when Griffith kidnaps his daughter; Griffith returns her to Foss when the other members of the conspiracy are successfully assassinated, then orders Guts to kill the kidnappers in turn. Guts leaves the Band of the Hawk and breaks his friendship with Griffith, who seduces Charlotte and then is arrested. The Hawk are forced to flee to the border of the nation, always hunted down by the King’s troops, angry for the Griffith’s action. Meanwhile, Guts meets Skull Knight, that foretell to the warrior a mortal event that will happen during the eclipse, the next year. Guts' age: 19 years Guts spends a whole year training on the mountains, living with Godo and Erica. Gone back to town, he takes part to a joust, defeating Shilat. Here, he hears that the Hawk are now a gang of robbers, hiding near there. Guts precedes Shilat, who leads an expedition against the Hawk, and saves his friends from the assault, defeating one more time the Barkilaka warrior. Guts and Casca turn a blind eye to the past and spend a night of love. Casca, Judeau, Pippin and Guts head to Wyndham to save Griffith, imprisoned a year ago in the tower of Rebirth. Thanks to Charlotte’s help, accompanied by her loyal maid Anna, the party enters the castle and saves Griffith, who turned into a human wreck, because of the tortures. Meanwhile, many Apostles goes to a specified place, where soon a black celebration will take place. The other division of the Hawk, with the little Rickert among them, is assaulted by Rosine, the Count, and the Guardian Insects. Only Rickert survives, thanks to the heaven-sent help of the Skull Knight. After defeating all the Barkilaka killers, the party flees from the capital, but the King, furious, unleashes against them Wyald and his Black Dog Knights. Wyald seems to have no care for Griffith, even though he could become the fifth member of the God Hand. During a deadly battle between Guts and Wyald, Zodd interferes, killing the Apostle. Griffith, upset by contrasting feelings, tries to suicide, but the Karma’s will is to activate the Red Beherit, and doing this, the Hawk are transferred into the God Hand’s dimension, during an eclipse. Relived his past, Griffith sacrifices all his army-mates to become Femto. Meanwhile, Rickert is found by a company of acrobat, he meets Puck, who has left Elfhelm, and a fortune-teller, who predicts a change for all the people in the world. Void, Slan, Conrad and Ubik welcome the Fifth Hand, while all the Hawk are eaten by the Apostles and Casca is raped by Femto watched by Guts while he’s blocked by Borkov who bites his left arm. Guts' right eye is blinded. The Skull Knight burst into the ceremony, saving Guts and Casca, still alive. The Holy See’s department for the evaluation of the miracles instructs the Holy Iron Chain Knights to look for informations about the Apocalypse. Farnese reaches the red lake, the marsh where the massacre of the Hawk took place. Guts' age: 20 years Guts wakes up in the Godo’s mine, attended by Rickert and Erica, and finds Casca, drove crazy after the rape. The sacrificial mark calls all the evil spirits, and Casca gives birth to a deformed Child. At first assumed to be Femto's, it is revealed that it is actually the child of Guts and Casca, turned demonic by Femto’s wicked seed. Guts equips himself with a mechanical arm, a black armor, a repeater crossbow and the Dragonslayer, then he begins his vengeance trip. Gust finds out and kills many Apostles, gaining the bad reputation of The Black Swordsman. Arrived in the village of Koca, he gets ready to dig out the monstrous baron, and he saves by chance Puck from the minions of the Apostle. Once defeated the giant snake, Guts is followed by Puck in his roaming. The evil spirits don’t give peace to Guts and, unfortunately, even the innocent people are involved in his battles. The Holy Chain Armor Knights is now instructed to follow The Black Swordsman, considered linked to the Apocalypse. Guts arrives in the city of the Count, and takes a Behelit from the old Vargas. After a battle with Zorkan the commander of the city’s army, Guts enters the Apostle’s castle, and after a cruel battle, he mortally wounded monster, under the eyes of the apostle’s young daughter Teresia. In his last breath, the Count uses the Behelit and Guts meets finally his great foe Femto. The difference between their powers is so huge that Guts can’t even touch the demon. When the God Hand’s dimension closes, Teresia swears revenge to Guts, that leaves the place followed by Puck. In a village on the mountain, a kid, impressed by the great achievements of Band of the Hawk and its Raiding Team’s commander, runs away from home to undertake a training trip: his name is Isidro. Guts' age: 21 years After saving Jill from a gang of bandits and a spectral tree, Guts hears that the near villages are assaulted by greedy elves. In the village, the Holy Iron Chain Knights discovers that The Black Swordsman is somewhere near. Guts defeats Rosine. The Skull Knight swallows the Rosine’s Behelit. The Holy Iron Chain Knights reach the Black Swordsman, and after a fight against Azan, Guts is captured. Guts escapes, taking Farnese as hostage. Pursued by Serpico, Guts and Farnese have to face an attack by some evil spirits. The next day, Serpico rescues Farnese. Near St. Albion a person on the fringes of society invokes the God Hand and, sacrificing all the ground around him, becoming Apostle-Behelit. A prophetic dream is shared by all the people of the world, that a Hawk of Light is the saviour of the humanity. In Midland, the situation is really serious because of the plague. Raban hears that the King is dying. Casca eludes Erica and joins a group of refugees that heads toward St. Albion. Mozgus, a fanatic inquisitor escorted by Farnese and her order, is directed to the sanctuary. In Wyndham, the King dies, leaving an empty throne. Kushan’s troops, leaded by the rebel Apostle, Emperor Ganishka, invade Midland. Zodd receives a visit of the Hawk of Light who defeat him and urge him to go to the place of the prophecy. Guts learns from his demonic Child the existence of that place. Worried about Casca, Guts goes back to Godo’s house. Guts heads toward St. Albion with Puck, to save Casca. In a desert village, Guts and Puck meets Isidro and the Kushan's vanguards, led by Shilat. At Albion Mozgus and the Holy Iron Chain Knights hunt the heretics, who hide themselves in a cave where they glorify the Evil One with sabbaths and extreme rituals. Casca follows Nina, unleashing an inferno in the cave, calling the spirits through the Brand. Guts meets the Skull Knight, who tells him of the Birth Festival. Casca is mistook for a witch by heretics, then captured by Mozgus. When Morgus used the Iron Maid on Casca, a pile of blood is unleashed, in globing all in presence. Mozgus and his attendants retreated to the chapel, where the Apostle-Behelit gives them a special power. Casca was protected by the Child, but was again captured by Mozgus. The Apostle-Behelit too the Child, preparing himself for Femto's rebirth. The Tower of Conviction falls, assuming the shape of a big hand. Guts defeat all the Mozgus’ entourage and save Casca with the help of Serpico, Isidro, Jerome and Farnese. Albion completely falls, and all the souls gathered there invoke the birth of a perfect world. The Apostle-Behelit discloses like an egg and a new life sees the light. The sun appears on the horizon, this is the dawn of a new era. Shilat reaches the place of the prophecy, to witness, in a whirling of feathers, Griffith rebirths. Zodd comes to protect his King from the Kushans attack, while Guts departs with Casca. When the situation calms down, Farnese decides to follow the Black Swordsman, fascinated by him. Azan goes back to the Holy See, while Nina departs with Joaquin. The Skull Knight, stares at the rubbles of the sanctuary. With the Griffith’s earthly rebirth, the world begins to change, and come spirituals planes overlaps to the Real World. Once at the bait, Guts, Puck and Casca find out that Godo is dead. Griffith is talking with Rickert, because he wants to set up a new Band of Hawks, Guts throws himself toward his enemy. Zodd intervenes to block the Black Swordsman, and the elfish cave is demolished during the fight. Unable to stay there because of the mark’s effects, Guts and Casca must find another safe place to stay, and Puck offers to take them to Elfhelm. Guts' age: 22 years In the Midlands, invaded by Kushans, a rebel army is moving, the Band of the Hawks, founded in Shet, an eastern region of the Kingdom. Griffith’s allied are also Grunberd, Locus, Zodd, Rakshas, Irvine (all Apostles), plus Sonja, a girl with telepathic powers. Schierke, sent to the Midlands by Flora, feels that Griffith is the reincarnation of a high level spirit. While Randel conquers the independence from the Kingdom of Balden thanks to the Band of the New Dawn’s, all the armies of the countries loyal to Holy See are called with great urgency to Vritanis, a port under control of Church. All the allies: Tudor, Wardoria, Morgal, Randel as well as Balden, gather in the city; besides Nirce, Pharis, Narna send their troops too. A temporary government is found to prepare a campaign for midlands’ liberation. While Guts make his dangerous journey toward the coast, Serpico, Farnese and Isidro join the party. Meanwhile, Griffith frees Lumias, in the southern Midlands, taking with him the young Prince Mule Wolflame. Guts’ party has to reach Vritanis, passing through the hills. In the near woods, trolls are moving, sacking the villages around there. Morgan is in travel to find Flora’s palace and, meeting Guts and his friends, they all reach the incredible destination. Guts makes a pact with Flora: he will help Schierke to exterminate the trolls from the village of Enoch in exchange for some amulets. The next day, equipped with precious magic crafts, the young warriors arrive at the village. Schierke’s magic neutralizes the trolls and the other malefic creatures near the village. Farnese and Casca are kidnapped by the monsters and taken to the Qliphoth, a dark layer of the astral world. While Guts, Schierke, Isidro and the two elves go toward the wood to save the girls Griffith orders to Grunberd and Zodd to kill Flora. Guts is in a cave, alone, while Schierke is going to seal the Qliphoth. From the remains of the trolls appears Slan, which hurts and blocks Guts. The intervention of the Skull Knight saves Guts from Slan, who is then defeated by the warrior. Back to Enoch, from Serpico, the party goes back to Flora’s palace, but the scene they find is horrible: the Sacred Tree is burning and the Apostles are searching for the witch. Guts fights against Grunberd, but he’s in trouble, so Schierke is forced to give him the Berserk Armour, to fit the situation. Flora sacrifices herself to save the fellowship, and blocks the Apostles. Because of the Armour, Guts is seriously injured. Meanwhile, in Windam, Ravan contacts the Resistance, led by Foss. Ravan can’t believe his eyes, when he sees Pishacas roaming through the fog. A Pishaca elephant attacks the nobles, quickly saved by Locus: the Apostle soon reveals that the Hawk is preparing the freedom of Windom. Ganishka perceives that Griffith’s vanguards entered the castle. The Emperor knows that Charlotte is the lover of Griffith. The New Band of the Hawk ‘s lancers squad enters the internal square, covered by Irvine and his squad. Ganishka calls back the Dakas army. Rakshas takes Shilat and the Tarpasas into the amphitheatre. Once there, he shows to the warriors how the Harashadas creates the Dakas for Ganishka. Scandalized by the black magic, Shilat and the Tarpasas go outside to watch the battle between the Hawks and the demon warriors. Ganishka, assuming the shape of fog, eliminates soma apostles with his powers. Griffith and Zodd go into the Tower of Rebirth and save Charlotte and Anna. The mission of the lancers is accomplished, and Borkov makes an exit for the Hawks through the crowd. Ganishka understands too late the deceit, the princess has been saved yet. Ganishka orders to kill everyone on the west coast to prepare an attack to Vritanis to break down the armies loyal to Holy See. Daiba, the charmer, is ordered to go by ship. Guts seems to be well now, so the party finally reaches the sea. Recovered into an abandoned house, the guys decide to take some rest. The Skull Knight warns Guts on the negative effects of the Berserk Armour, that takes possess of the dark side (in Guts’ case is the Beast) of the wearer. Guts knows he’s losing his senses, and even his hairs are turning to white. The Knight reveals that the King of Elves, as knows as Hanafubuku (Blossom rain king) that lives in Elfhelm can cure Casca, but this couldn’t be what the girl really wants. Casca meets a mysterious baby on the shore, and after a while, the group is attacked by Kushans crocodiles. Once defeated the Pishakas menace, a Makara comes out from the waves, and Guts is forced to face it. The Berserk Armour takes possess of Guts that throws himself toward his friends after the elimination of the Makara. The Jananin, a spirit, blocks him, so Schierke calls back Guts into himself. At the dawn the fellowship reaches Vritanis, while, at the Hawk’s camp, the wedding between Griffith and Charlotte is planned. Sonja, jealous, runs away to Vritanis, where, after some hours meets Schierke. Isidro and Puck are searching for Schierke, as Mule does for Sonja. Unavoidably, the four guys meet at the harbour, forced to fight against a common enemy: a gang of pirates and merchants of slaves. From http://www.berserkchronicles.com